Smile Through The Pain, Jim

[Richter]

I remark almost offhand to people sometimes "Laugh, Cry, or Scream. Pick one." 
Two of these are downers, one is letting yourself slip a little, but at least keeps you moving. 

[P3nT4gR4m]

Comic was kickass. And the OP, mr Doc teh Howl is something I gotta answer to, for my part in whatever it is. This board is all about the enjoyment for me. Some fucking kick-ass people and just shooting the shit is enough sometimes. I write shit from time to time. Okay so I'm slap bang in the middle of a two year dry spell myself but I'm lurking and waiting for something to pop out my head, meanwhile entertaining myself with things others are posting.

What I notice is that peeps seem to get preocupied with doing creative stuff and then there's a flamey scenario can take off with the SRS BIZNESS brigade V's the WTF WE JUST COME HERE TO SPAM EACH OTHER WITH DUMB SHIT THAT MAKES LULZ contingent?

What we might benefit from realising is that, for the SRS BIZNESS people - business aint really all that srs and, for the lulz dudes - sometimes amazing shit happens here and art gets shat into the world and it rocks - show a bit of respect!

As for flouncing and scabbing and arguing with each other? It's something I've witnessed primates doing from time to time and its lulzsworthy. Primate behaviour is even something I've caught myself slipping into from time to time and, tbh, it's no less funny when I catch myself at it.

I noticed a lot of falling out and shit lately. Some was funny, some less so. There is a hardcore element to this board and those people (even the ones who hate each other from time to time) will always be here. Peedee will survive. We know each other too well for it not to.

Ahab was a pussy with a harpoon. Not a lot of those around these parts, IMO.

[BADGE OF HONOR]

I've been realizing this over and over.

Constantly bitching about your problems, or dwelling on the negative, will never make you happy.  If you only ever focus on what's wrong with your life, you will block out everything that's going right.  Yeah, life sucks sometimes...and it can suck all the time, if you let it.  And it isn't about grasping at the things that make you feel good to try to block out everything that makes you feel bad--that's where addiction comes from.  It's about understanding that nothing is ever perfect, and sometimes you got to have pain to make the pleasure stand out.  

So tell me: does your life suck, or is it interesting?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I loved this. In "The Man Who Fell In Love With The Moon" the protagonist, Shed, talks about how everybody tells a story about themselves. They tell it in words, in actions, and in the ways their bodies move. Sometimes the story isn't true, but they believe it and that makes it as true as any other story. This board tells a story about what it is, and we each tell part of that story. Then everyone else retells it to ourselves and to the board. Sometimes the retelling is the part where things go bad.

Dimo, on the topic of going outside, consider getting a real film camera, especially one that takes weird-format film like 120 if there's a place you can have it developed around there. Having to spend actual money on your pictures, and not knowing what they'll look like until later, makes you really pay attention to each shot.

Also, goofy little cameras like the Argus 40 or the Brownie are really cheap, and you can't feel too serious taking a picture with one because you look like a retard. They take 620 which you can't get anymore, but you can trim the 120 to fit.

[Roaring Biscuit!]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

Like the rest of the western world is quite happy to be nice and cosy in their bubblewrap blankets with the wool pulled firmly over their eyes, while the people here are reckelssly charging through that gauntlet of razorblades and swinging chainsaws that finally leads to really feeling  again.  This place is like an oasis of rage and passion in a desert of mediocrity, and the spiders just skitter round the edges, probing but keeping their distance, 'cause when they get too cocky and take a step to far, they get those spindly little legs ripped right off by all the emotion, that reckless abandon, that razor-edged lust for life.

I love the passion in this place, I drop by at least once a day, but I don't always contrubute to the "drama" threads, 'cause I think they probably carry themselvex tbh, but somethings really strike me.  I won't lie, some of the content here has literally changed my ENTIRE WORLD VIEW, which is probably something to be proud of for you guys, amd I do enjoy posting here, occasionally, but maybe the thread ahs a point.  I'm a sheep, I only seem to post/post at all when there is "content" to inspire me.

So yeh, sontent forthcoming.  probably.

[Dimocritus]

I kinda needed this. It's been sort of an Ahab day for me today and my scowling muscles are getting a bit sore. But, it's a beutiful day and there's plenty of time to turn it all curly. What to do, though. That is the question...

Gonna take a leaf from Nigel, here:  GO OUTSIDE.  Take a camera with you, and walk around looking for cool shit.

It's funny that you say that. After I replied, I took my dog for a long walk. As I was out, I started wishing I had a camera. Regardless, I felt much better afterwards. Hit it right on the head.

[Vene]

I remark almost offhand to people sometimes "Laugh, Cry, or Scream. Pick one." 
Two of these are downers, one is letting yourself slip a little, but at least keeps you moving. 

Screaming laughter is always fun.

[BadBeast]

That was kind of amazing.

LegoRobotComics: Some of the are kind of amazing.

That cartoon absolutely lifted me above the clouds. Especially since I have just (this very hour) finished re-reading Moby Dick. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I tried reading Moby Dick once and I couldn't because it was too fucking boring. Maybe I should try again.

[Jasper]

I tried reading Moby Dick once and I couldn't because it was too fucking boring. Maybe I should try again.

I just listened to lectures on it for that same reason.  Apparently it was more deeply a tragedy of perspective, in the classical sense of the word "tragedy".  Lots of people have white whales, so to speak.  Abiding obsessions that transform them into ridiculous maniacs over time, as the white whale consumes their ego.

[BadBeast]

I tried reading Moby Dick once and I couldn't because it was too fucking boring. Maybe I should try again.

Although it's not an easy read, it really is worth persevering with, and once you get used to Melville's unusually prosaic style, the story flows with a unique pace, that seems at first, to be aimless, and unhurried. But the undercurrent of Ahab's descent into madness, drags all the threads of the plot together. The Whale quite nicely embodies Ahab's massive hubris, and insane obsession, and how, bit by bit, the whole crew gets caught up in the whirlpool of one man's madness. All told in the first person, from the remarkable perspective of Ishmael, who seems to exist only as a witness to events, rather than as an active participant in the plot. 
I can see me reading it again and again, and still enjoying it as much each time, and that's quite rare for me.
   

[Adios]

There's very little to be said in favor of daily hour-long treadmill fests.  They're boring, they hurt (if you're doing them right), and 15 minutes into it, you're too miserable to properly enjoy the hottie on the machine ahead of you.  They DO, however, carve fat off like a motherfucker, and do nice things for your heart.

So you do it.  You smile through the pain, and keep moving, and eventually the hour is over.

I have to say that this applies to a lot of things.  Whether it's getting out of a bad relationship, walking away from a job you hate, or just another Friday night at the Meatrack, the pain will eventually end, and you'll be better off for the experience.

Curly and Payne, God rest their souls, understood this.  You never saw either one of them moping...They always had a bright, cheerful smile, even if it didn't always reach their eyes.  They're both dead now, of course, and the manner of their passing was gruesome, but while they were here, they got it.  Life may be painful at times, but - if you're doing it right - the good times outweigh the bad...If you can remember to enjoy them when they arrive.

Captain Ahab, on the contrary...Well, he went through the pain and scowled.  He kept on scowling, consumed by revenge (for the loss of a leg to a creature he was trying to kill at the time, ironically enough), and he wound up getting himself and everyone who followed him killed.  Not that anyone in Providence missed him, of course...He was a belligerent drunk with the bad habit of shitting in the church poor box when the mood took him, and everyone hated him so much they got Herman Melville to immortalize him in bad prose.

So where's the relevance?  Easy.  Judging from the "who's online" function, half the board just sits and scowls at their computer, coming here largely out of habit alone, I assume.  Things have gotten too bitter, some say, and the steady loss of posters is the result of the hate and the anger and the drama.

Well, whose fault is that?  This board is what we make it.  All of us, even - especially - the self-righteous folks who are too busy saying "OH THE DRAMA" to have time to say something constructive.

Are you a Captain Ahab, clinging to your hate and anger, unable or unwilling to post something worth reading because you can't stop scowling long enough?  Or will you be Curly or Payne, and show up with a smile and something to say?

The world is full of Ahabs.  If that's what you want, go drive in rush hour traffic, or hang out with teabaggers.  I much prefer the company of Curly and Payne.

Okay for now,
Dok

From one broke down old fart to another....

[LMNO]

I tried reading Moby Dick once and I couldn't because it was too fucking boring. Maybe I should try again.

Although it's not an easy read, it really is worth persevering with, and once you get used to Melville's unusually prosaic style, the story flows with a unique pace, that seems at first, to be aimless, and unhurried. But the undercurrent of Ahab's descent into madness, drags all the threads of the plot together. The Whale quite nicely embodies Ahab's massive hubris, and insane obsession, and how, bit by bit, the whole crew gets caught up in the whirlpool of one man's madness. All told in the first person, from the remarkable perspective of Ishmael, who seems to exist only as a witness to events, rather than as an active participant in the plot. 
I can see me reading it again and again, and still enjoying it as much each time, and that's quite rare for me.
   

While the above is a good summation, there are whole chapters that don't have anything to do with either plot or character development, and consist entirely of describing whaling ships in minute detail.  Unless you really want to learn about whale biology and sea rigging in the middle of a stupendously written analogy of the human's drive for revenge, it's a case of Showing His Work.

[Richter]

I remark almost offhand to people sometimes "Laugh, Cry, or Scream. Pick one." 
Two of these are downers, one is letting yourself slip a little, but at least keeps you moving. 

Screaming laughter is always fun.

At least you can laugh about it. 

[BadBeast]

I tried reading Moby Dick once and I couldn't because it was too fucking boring. Maybe I should try again.

Although it's not an easy read, it really is worth persevering with, and once you get used to Melville's unusually prosaic style, the story flows with a unique pace, that seems at first, to be aimless, and unhurried. But the undercurrent of Ahab's descent into madness, drags all the threads of the plot together. The Whale quite nicely embodies Ahab's massive hubris, and insane obsession, and how, bit by bit, the whole crew gets caught up in the whirlpool of one man's madness. All told in the first person, from the remarkable perspective of Ishmael, who seems to exist only as a witness to events, rather than as an active participant in the plot. 
I can see me reading it again and again, and still enjoying it as much each time, and that's quite rare for me.
   

While the above is a good summation, there are whole chapters that don't have anything to do with either plot or character development, and consist entirely of describing whaling ships in minute detail.  Unless you really want to learn about whale biology and sea rigging in the middle of a stupendously written analogy of the human's drive for revenge, it's a case of Showing His Work.

I agree, completely, this is what makes it such a difficult book to read. The plot seems to stop, start, stop again, and then expect the reader to be able to pick the plot up again. There is what seems to be a whole
rake of minutiae going on that just don't add to any building of the tale, but rather detract from it.

I think if he wrote the book in a less prosaic style, or hadn't had such a good overall command of language, then Moby Dick may well have sunk, without trace.

But, like Hell, the book wouldn't sink, unless it had dragged a living lump of grey cells with it.

And now I know stuff like how to coil rope properly, suck sperm out of the severed head of a whale,
and build a coffin that doubles up as a life-raft. Stuff like how much blubber there is on a dolphin, the bizzare dining etiquette on-board a ship, and how useful a whales foreskin is as a weatherproof coat.  Hmmm, . . .